Thomas Kinkade a favorite artist of megachurch pastor Joel Osteen

One of the greatest challenges Christ’s Church of the Valley in Royersford, Pa., has faced as a church is the “ongoing struggle” of serving more than 1,200 new Christians without becoming “really creepy” along the way, writes Brian Jones, lead pastor, on his personal website.

The church needs to protect new Christians from other Christians, Jones explains.

“[I]f you lead someone to Christ in America and get them serious about their faith, within three years they’re speaking some strange Christian lingo, putting Thomas Kinkade paintings in their living room, wanting to sing 4,345 Hillsong worship songs in church, and TiVo-ing Joel Osteen while they’re watching Fox News,” he writes.

The juxtaposition of the late “painter of light” Thomas Kinkade, who died on April 6 at age 54, and Joel Osteen, lead pastor at Lakewood Church, is not an unusual one. And when the two names are collectively invoked, it’s rarely complimentary. Kinkade was often considered the scum of the art world by many critics and historians — even lower than Norman Rockwell, who is also referred to as an “illustrator” who makes “kitsch” — and Osteen is regularly denounced and derided by other pastors for his “prosperity theology.”

“You might liken Thomas Kinkade paintings to a Joel Osteen book,” wrote Matthew Rosebrock on his blog, Eyes of Faith. “They both tend to give people what they want to hear or see.”

Osteen’s message that faith is rewarded, and Kinkade’s paintings, where every home is peaceful and tranquil, can be dangerous if their audiences believe that something is wrong with them if their home isn’t picturesque and all of their prayers aren’t answered, Rosebrock adds. “When people recognize their brokenness and the inability to achieve what they want, there is a danger of focusing on escape,” he writes.

Joel Osteen doesn’t seem to have discussed Kinkade previously. But a blog post on the Lakewood website by Miriam Witt, wife of Marcos Witt, associate pastor for the Hispanic congregation of Lakewood, calls Kinkade “one of my favorite artists.”

In an interview with reporters before Lakewood’s A Night of Hope on April 29 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., Osteen echoed Witt’s statement.

“To the Thomas Kinkade [question], you know he was one of our favorite, and we’re going to certainly miss him,” Osteen said in response to a question from this blog. “We love his work.”

Culture, arts, and music play a “tremendous role” in Lakewood’s services and in everyday life, Osteen added.

“I think people relate to [music], and it moves you. And we do believe in drama. And we’re in a sight and sound generation,” Osteen added. “I mean people, with our phones — it’s just, I think one you have to. People’s attention spans are shorter. Sometimes music, and you know, visual things keep people’s attention.”